Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Jodi Price

Committee Member

Aurora Torres

Committee Member

Jeffrey Neuschatz

Subject(s)

Mathematics--Study and teaching--Psychological aspects, Anxiety, Test anxiety

Abstract

Math anxiety can negatively impact individuals’ performance on math tasks, especially those tasks with high working memory demands. Individuals who are highly math anxious often avoid situations that involve performing math tasks. The level of anxiety experienced by individuals may be affected by different pressure situations. The present study examined the role of different types of pressure (speed, accuracy, or combination [speed + accuracy]) in math anxiety and math performance. Results indicated that experiencing anxiety during a math task has a negative impact on math performance. Results also indicated that speed pressure might be more detrimental to math performance than accuracy pressure. This study provides insight as to what types of pressure are more likely to produce the negative impact of math anxiety on math performance.

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